Temporal and Spatial Patterns in Carbonate Platforms

Combining field research of outcrop geology with investigations of the recent formation of carbonate rocks in coastal environments, the author presents an introduction to sequence stratigraphy. Using computer simulations, the book focuses on four areas: the geometry of carbonate wedges; sequences comparable with geotectonic cycles; their influence by geoidal pulses; and the determination of these geoidal pulse distributions in geologic time. Examples from the Alps and Florida show that ramps and divergent patterns, megabreccias, and the drowning of carbonate platforms are the result of global short-term sea level falls, interpreted as geoidal eustasy. This volume should act as a supplement to the interpretation and understanding of sequence stratigraphic sections, not only for scientists and students, but also for researchers in the oil and gas industries.